Sport Today

Fiji Trip 1 of 2 - Kadavu

Let me start off by saying this was my first trip to the South Seas and to Fiji so please bear with me if I mention some obvious things.

Our trip was three weeks long with more than one stop. I will break up the report into two files. For information about Beqa Lagoon, Taveuni and general travel comments, see my second report.

Kadavu:

General Notes: There is a mile of road on this island. To go to any of the resorts, you travel by boat. You will need to wade into the water so proper shoes are advisable. Bare feet work as well.

Nukumbalvu: Our first stop was to Nukumbalvu Resort Inn. At the time, we were the only guests there. This is a backpacking place which is trying to convert to a resort. It is about an hour by boat from the airport. We stayed in the only bure with electricity and running water (hot and cold). They are in the process of building a couple more of this type. The food is very good. Breakfast consists of cereal, toast and another bread type. I am sure if we had asked for more variety we would have gotten it but what they offered is what we considered a diving breakfast anyway. Lunch was single plate of various things. Dinner was a buffet of two different meats, lots of veggies and fruits. Dessert was some type of cake.

The diving was within the Astrolabe Reef area. We could not dive the face of the reef as the breakers were quite large at the edge due to the Trade Winds. In calmer times it is possible to do. The average dive depth was about 40 feet with some of the best dives between 8 - 30 ft deep. There was a a little bit of top current but nothing very serious. Because Nukumbalvu has sole rights to diving on the reef, the reef has some very *** looking areas to it. The hard c***was abundant with the fish life that is usually found with it (damsels, clown fish, basslets). There is little to no soft coral. The highlights for us there was a stone fish and some sting rays. We did three days of diving and one night dive there.

The dive operation has some pluses and minuses to it. The boat is nothing more than a regular six pack boat. It does not have a ladder so it requires some effort to get back on board. They didn't have O2 available either. Supposedly that was due to come in the week after we left. What was nice about it was that we could go out at whatever time we wanted to. They were very concerned about what sorts of things we wanted to see and what sort of diving we liked to do. No cattle car here. The dive shop was complete with anything you'd need to rent.

Overall, as we liked the quiet of the place and the overall accomodations, we stayed an extra day. Besides the quiet, the snorkeling was great just in front of the Inn. You could see as much snorkeling as you did diving.

Dive Kadavu Mantana:

Dive Kadavu is about 10 minutes from the airport and is much more like a hotel bordering on a Club Med in atmosphere. The food is also ok. There is no choice on menus unless you require special foods or are a vegetarian. Breakfast is fruit, cereal and either pancakes or an egg dish. Lunch and Dinner is posted in advance. The resort has electricity from 7am to 10pm.

The diving depth averages about 50-60 ft and is predominately boomie (c***head) dives. There is a little soft c***but not a lot. There are alot of swim throughs. There is a good variety of life including white tip sharks and lion fish. I have heard that other sharks have been sighted (not the kind you mess with) in the area as well. The hard c***is less impressive but still nice. Current was present but rarely and not a serious one.

The dive operation is very well organized. They have three dives a day at 9, 11 and 3 with an occasional night dive. They usually choose the dives well in advance, the night before or that morning, and you sign up on the blackboard for what you are attending. The boat is very nice and well equipped. The dive shop was very complete for any of your needs. The Astrolabe sites are out of reach from here, its being over an hour away.

If you are a snorkler, the immediate area in front of the hotel is very disappointing. There are a couple low bommies but there is very little life present. Best bet is to go out on the dive boat to a dive site and snorkel on top of the bommies there.

Of these two resorts, I would go back to Nukumbalvu again for Astrolabe Reef access. It offered great diving and the accomodations were acceptable. Just a note, both resorts use mosquito netting for bug protection. There are no nicely screened accomodations at either site.